Bethany [Eminence Shifters 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Ashley Malkin

  She didn’t know if it was her burgeoning sexual attraction for them that was causing her mind to fracture again, but she didn’t want to stay to find out.

  As soon as the bathroom door closed behind her, she pulled out the IV and looked around for a window.

  * * * *

  Samson was furious with Jason. He’d seen the shine of tears fill his mate’s lovely blue eyes at Jason’s cruel treatment of her. She was understandably hurt and confused by Jason’s actions. Samson had never seen him so cold with a patient before, let alone one who was his mate. Her cat would be devastated by its mate’s obvious rejection.

  “It felt like he’d actually slapped her,” Michael exclaimed. “I’m going to find Jason and tear him a new one.”

  “Make that two,” Samson growled. “The scent of her pain is fucking burning me alive right now.”

  “He has to stop this. I won’t have her hurting because of him.”

  “Good luck with that. He’s a stubborn fucking bastard.” Samson walked toward the back door.

  “Where are you going?” Michael said, “Jason went this way.” He gestured down the hallway with his thumb.

  “I’m going outside to catch Bethany as she climbs out the window. It’s far too big a drop for such a tiny thing.”

  Michael raised his eyebrows in surprise, but didn’t argue with him.

  When Samson arrived at the patch of lawn outside the bathroom, it was to see Bethany exiting the window backward. Her legs and torso were already free of the frame. She gasped in surprise as he wrapped an arm around her slim hips and lowered her to the ground.

  “What the fuck?” she said, turning on him. “You scared me half to death.”

  She didn’t look scared, she looked furious. Her eyes turned from a beautiful dusky blue to a glowing lavender with her anger. She was stunning. Her eyes had turned that color earlier, when he’d kissed her hand. Her cat was going to be stunning, he was certain of it.

  “I thought you might like to join us for dinner. I’m starving. I haven’t eaten in over twenty-four hours and I know you haven’t either.” He smiled as he reluctantly released her and gestured toward the back porch.

  * * * *

  Michael found Jason in the kitchen preparing dinner. “You better explain to me why you just hurt our mate like that.” He gripped the table tightly with his hands to stop himself from using them on Jason’s throat.

  “Your mate, Michael, and I didn’t do a thing to her.”

  Michael wanted to strangle him so badly as he stood there and calmly chopped vegetables.

  “You need to tell us what happened back in Afghanistan. We can help you. You need to deal with it, so you can move forward with your life. With Bethany.” He saw steely resolve wash over his brother’s face.

  “I’m happy that you and Samson have found your mate. But I must insist you stop trying to force something on me that simply doesn’t exist.”

  Samson entered the kitchen and held the door open, as Bethany entered after him.

  “Bethany is joining us for dinner. She’s decided against a walk,” Samson said. He smiled down at an obviously furious Bethany.

  She walked stiffly to the table and sat down on one of the chairs. Her voice shook when she spoke. “You just told me that you rescued me from a kidnapper. Have you now replaced him? Am I now a prisoner here?”

  “You shouldn’t be out of bed. Why did you remove the IV, Samson?” Michael watched as Jason finally showed his true feelings toward Bethany. His face was tight with anger and his hands were now clenched into tight fists at his side.

  “I didn’t remove it, Bethany did, right before she decided to take a dive out the window and be on her way.” Her eyes sparked and glowed as she glared up at Samson. “I’ve convinced her to have a meal with us first.”

  “Why would you do that, Bethany?” Jason said.

  “I may be nuts, but I know when I’m not welcome.” She turned her glare on Jason. “You haven’t answered my question. Am I a prisoner here?”

  Samson sat on one side of Bethany and reached for her hand. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again on a sigh. He ran his free hand through his cropped hair and looked pleadingly at Michael.

  Michael walked over and sat on Bethany’s other side. He reached for her other hand and was pleased that she didn’t pull it away. “Of course you’re not a prisoner, darlin’. We just think you should stay with us until we’ve determined if you’re safe from Cristian Renta.”

  “That’s right,” Samson said, his shoulders relaxing a little. “We haven’t told you everything yet, but we believe he’s still a threat to you.”

  Michael watched the emotions flow across her expressive face. He could scent her anger receding as she relaxed. Sitting this close to her, he had a driving need to place his lips on her delicate neck.

  “I’ve discovered that a large sum of money has already been paid for you. Renta won’t want to return that money. He’ll come looking for you.”

  “We can protect you here, Bethany,” Samson added.

  “I see,” she said. “Is that why you’ve brought me here? Because it’s so far away from him?”

  Michael couldn’t lie to his mate. It was an impossibility for their kind, but he didn’t want to overwhelm her by telling her how much he cared for her already. He wondered if the drugs still in her system were preventing her from feeling the pull of the mating bond. She shouldn’t want to leave them.

  “Why did you want to leave, darlin’? Did we scare you?” he asked instead. Her eyes had changed back to their usual pale blue, but when she’d been angry, they were a glowing lavender. Quite a tell. He wondered if they were that color when she shifted. He was certain she’d be a beautiful cat.

  “I don’t think Jason likes me very much and it was making me…uncomfortable.” She looked up to where Jason had been standing and sighed.

  Michael followed her gaze. He was gone.

  “We like you, kitten,” Samson said. “I couldn’t take my eyes off you back in Tijuana. If I hadn’t needed to rescue you, I would have asked you out.” Samson pressed a kiss to the back of her hand.

  Her cheeks blushed scarlet and Michael could hear her pulse rate double.

  “But you don’t know anything about me. Why would you do that?” She looked at Samson with genuine surprise.

  “That’s what dates are for. To get to know people you’re attracted to. You must’ve had really bad dates in the past, if you didn’t know that.” Samson said.

  “I’ve never had any dates in the past. That’s what I’ve been saying. You know nothing about me. If you did, I’m certain you wouldn’t want a date with me.” She looked down at her lap, her shoulders slumping. She drew her hands from theirs and began to wring then together.

  Michael knew he’d want her regardless of anything she told them. A mate was a one-time gift. There was only one for any shifter, and for them, she was it. He wondered what she’d been told about mates, as she didn’t seem to understand everything she meant to them.

  “What did your parents tell you about meeting your soul mate, Bethany?” Michael said. “Didn’t they tell you that you’d know them instantly?”

  He wanted to race her to the nearest bedroom, strip her naked and lick her all over. Then she would be in no doubt of his feelings toward her. He and his cat wanted to taste every inch of their delicious mate. He felt his eyes heat, and knew the amber would be showing. His cock was so hard now that it was feeling tortured in the confines of his pants.

  He wondered if Jason’s denial of Bethany as his mate was the reason she seemed to be unaware of their mating bond.

  “I think we should feed Bethany before we have any deep and meaningful discussions. She’s going to waste away otherwise,” Samson said. He rose and began chopping the vegetables Jason had left unattended.

  Michael made her some sweet tea and observed Bethany as she sipped it in contemplative silence. As he helped Samson with the meal, he noticed she kept looking from
them to the door. The fact that she was still wanted to run was obvious and distressing. Neither he, nor his distressed cat, could understand why she would consider leaving her mates.

  Chapter 8

  Jason had left the kitchen and gone for another run. He was stunned that the woman had tried to run. Samson and Michael were her mates. She would be feeling the pull as strongly as they were. Was Michael right? Did I hurt her?

  He had honestly not paid any attention to shifter lore as he was growing up. He’d always intended to live his own life, not some pre-ordained life thrust upon him by his genetics.

  He’d studied medicine, and then joined the Marines as a surgeon. He’d gotten to see the world. Not always the nice parts of it—war zones weren’t generally located in common tourist destinations. But he’d been determined to not waste his three hundred years of life in Eminence.

  His parents were happy here, as were their parents before them. It just wasn’t what he’d wanted. So he’d made a different life for himself than the one his family had expected of him.

  That had all changed with Judith’s sudden death. Then he’d wanted nothing more than to come home and simply exist, until the day he could join her in death.

  Then Samson had appeared with a five-foot-nothing bundle of blonde feline, and suddenly, his world was falling apart again. Damn it. I will not be controlled by something as unscientific as fate. I chose to never take a mate and I will stand by my decision.

  * * * *

  Bethany watched as Samson and Michael cleared the table after their meal. They were large men, easily six-and-a-half feet tall, but they moved with a fluid grace that had her blood heating. They glided around silently, their muscles rippling under their shirts. Their army training seemed to have honed them into…predators.

  They had insisted she remain seated and had even made her a hot chocolate for dessert. Dinner had been a quiet affair, with them talking about the ranch and the sale of some of their horses. As she sipped her sweet beverage, she considered how to tell them of her past. She should do it now, because she was beginning to enjoy being around them. Once they knew about her, they would ask her to leave. All thoughts of dating her would be dismissed. She was not dating material.

  Soul mates? Ha.

  She’d never felt attracted to a man before, and she found the feelings unsettling. She’d scanned the doorway for Jason about a hundred times since he’d quietly disappeared. She wasn’t sure if it was because he scared her, or because she wanted him to join them. She just knew that she’d felt an emptiness when he had left. The emptiness was still there, despite being in the company of Samson and Michael.

  She had fought and controlled the splintering of her mind, which had threatened in the clinic. The presence that had tried to overwhelm her was still there, but it seemed quiet now.

  She’d used some relaxation techniques that had been effective in the past. If she didn’t get upset or angry, she should be able to avoid an “episode” in front of these men.

  “Why don’t we start by telling you a little about ourselves?” Michael said, sitting next to her and taking one of her hands in his. She hated to admit it to herself, but she loved it when they touched her. Her skin tingled, and it made her pussy throb and tingle, too. Very unsettling.

  “That would be great. You said you were working in Tijuana, Samson?” Bethany said, pleased to delay having to tell her story a little longer. He walked over and sat down on her other side.

  “Yes, I was on assignment for the government. Michael and I joined the Marines right out of school. We’re twins and entered together. Once we were finished with basic training, they quickly recognized our differing talents and we were directed into different fields.”

  “I went into cyber-intelligence,” Michael said, “with very little field work. Whereas Samson became a super spy. I think they may have actually modelled James Bond on him.”

  “Terminator would be more likely,” Bethany said, choking a little on her hot chocolate. You’re too massive to be James Bond.”

  She’d said it without thinking and found herself laughing at the mental image she’d conjured. Samson was certainly built like the huge cyborg.

  “Would a machine do this?” She quickly found herself plucked from her chair and sitting on his lap, with her legs straddling his hips. Her mouth popped open in surprise. He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her, his tongue rubbing along hers briefly, before he broke the kiss. “You taste even sweeter than you smell, Bethany.”

  Her lips tingled and pulsed from his gentle kiss.

  “I have this incredible urge to roll all over you,” Bethany said. Her hand flew up to cover her mouth. She could feel her face heating in a blush.

  “That’s not surprising, darlin’. We want to do the same to you,” Michael said. He gently removed her hand and kissed her. His tongue stroking lightly along her already-tingling lips.

  Her body was tingling with excitement. She’d gone from never being attracted to anyone, to being attracted to two men in the space of a day. Her pussy throbbed when she thought of Jason kissing her. Or was that three men?

  “You’re going to kill me, kitten.” Samson moaned into her neck. “You smell so fucking good.”

  “Why don’t you tell us about yourself?” Michael said.

  His voice was deep and husky now. It made her pussy throb again. She screwed her eyes shut and willed the feeling to go away. It didn’t.

  She decided to delay again. “Have you always lived here together?”

  “We have,” Michael said. “Jason moved away when he was in medical school. Samson and I have built this house over the years when we’ve had leave. Our parents have a home on the other side of the hill. We own and work the property with them.”

  “Must be good to have family, and to be so close to them.” She suppressed the urge to sigh. She didn’t want their pity at her life’s circumstances.

  Samson nipped her bottom lip, surprising her. “You don’t have any family, kitten?”

  “No. I was put into the foster care system in San Diego when I was an infant. I remained in the system until I was sixteen. The longest I stayed with any family was two years.”

  “That’s a difficult upbringing, never having a stable family. Were they good to you, darlin’?” Michael said.

  When Bethany looked at him, his green eyes were a deep, shining jade. They seemed to glow, as if lit from within. It sent a shiver up her spine.

  “Yes, they were all kind. I know foster care can be hard for some kids, but I did okay. Being moved around was the only difficult part. Getting attached to other children, then being separated.”

  “What happened after you were sixteen?” Samson said.

  When she looked at him, his eyes were also cold, like the amber they resembled. She wondered if he suspected she had something unpleasant to tell them. She was sure they’d want nothing to do with her as soon as she answered him.

  “You may as well tell us, darlin’,” Michael said, lifting her chin so she was looking at him.

  She hadn’t realized she’d lowered her head in her attempt to hide.

  “Samson is an expert in interrogation. He will get it out of you eventually.”

  She gasped, her gaze flying to Samson, but he was smiling warmly at her.

  “Funny. But I will get it over with.” She didn’t manage to suppress her sigh this time.

  “When I was sixteen, I was placed in a psychiatric facility. They diagnosed me as schizophrenic. I was still in that same facility until four weeks ago. They’ve never been able to find any drugs that would stabilize my condition.”

  She went to slide off Samson’s lap, but he held her firmly in place with his hands around her hips. Michael rose quickly and pressed against her back, trapping her there.

  “Going somewhere, kitten?” Samson said. He leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips. “There must be more to your story.”

  “I better go now,” she said. She knew they must be regretting
their offer to get to know her, so she kept her eyes lowered. Seeing that regret in their eyes would hurt. She really liked them, and the way they made her feel.

  “Do you think what you just told us matters?” Michael whispered in her ear. It startled a squeak from her as she tensed in response. “Mental illness is just that, an illness. If you had diabetes, would you expect us to think any differently about you?”

  Samson lifted her chin so she was looking directly into his pale golden eyes. She sucked in a breath at what she saw there. There was heat and desire, but no regret at all. “In our eyes, you’re perfect as you are, Bethany, and we want very much to know everything about you. I hate that we didn’t know you sooner. Maybe we could have helped you in some way.”

  * * * *

  Jason stood outside the kitchen window, listening to the discussion occurring inside.

  He knew of no shifter ever having being diagnosed with schizophrenia. Their shifter genes healed too rapidly for a physical illness to affect them long-term, and that seemed to extend to mental illnesses as well. Some shifters were simply horrible people, or they suffered from delusions of grandeur due to their long lives and increased strength. But no psychological illness should have affected her.

  He wondered at the real cause of her suffering six years of drugging and confinement in an institution. It would’ve been torture to her cat. His own was bristling with anger at her mistreatment, and as a physician, he was outraged.

  Chapter 9

  Samson was horrified that she’d been, effectively, caged for six years. Not being free to run must have caused great distress to her cat. His own cat had needed to endure long periods of confinement while in the military, but he had not had to keep it confined for six years.

  “That’s a long time to be caged, kitten. How have you managed?” he asked her. He ran his hands up and down her sides, unsure if he was trying to comfort her or himself.